RESEARCH ARTICLE Compressive Force Profile of High Biomass Erianthus Clones C. Jayabose 1 • T. Arumuganathan 1 • V. A. Amalraj 1 • P. Rakkiyappan 1 • T. Rajula Shanthy 1 • R. Kailappan 2 Received: 6 July 2016 / Accepted: 16 August 2016 / Published online: 6 September 2016 Ó Society for Sugar Research & Promotion 2016 Abstract Behaviour of plant material to mechanical compression depends on the physical properties of plant stalks and their resistance to compressive force. Rind with a high content of lignocellulosic fiber is a potential material for structural strength of the crop that participates in transfer of the loading stresses. The purpose of the study was to calculate mechanical properties of Erianthus arun- dinaceus cane with rind and without rind. Consequently, force deformation and stress and strain of the cane samples were studied which enumerate the basic essential infor- mation to determine the mechanical properties of cane under mechanical compression testing condition. Erianthus arundinaceus is a crop gaining momentum due to its potential for renewable energy value. The various param- eters related to mechanical compression was studied using Universal Testing Machine (UTM). It was found that the clone IK76-93 9 SF 06-48 yielded the maximum com- pression load. Maximum displacement force 9.04 kN was required to compress the Erianthus stem with rind, and the minimum displacement force was enabled at 5.13 kN for the clone IK76-81 9 GC04-09. The clones without rind exhibited the maximum displacement force at 9.04 kN for the clone IK76-93 9 SF 06-48, and the minimum was for the clone IK76-81 9 GC04-09 at 3.86 kN. Information on the displacement profile of Erianthus clones gave a better understanding of the stem and rind behavior, and this would be helpful in designing crusher rollers for paper industry. Keywords Erianthus arundinaceus Á Wild cane Á Compressive force Á Displacement force Introduction Erianthus species are native to India, and they occur nat- urally in many parts of India. They belong to the tribe Andropogoneae under the grass family Poaceae. These species have high biomass, high fiber and low sucrose content. Among the Indian Erianthus species, only E. arundinaceus can be vegetative propagated by setts (stem cuttings). It has been reported that E. arundinaceus yields pulp which is suitable for making writing and printing paper. The juice contains Brix (total soluble solids) up to 13° and can be fermented to produce alcohol. E. arundi- naceus (wild cane), often found growing in river and canal banks, is known for its very high biomass, high tillering, good ratooning ability, drought tolerance, disease/pest resistance, low input requirement and shy flowering. It has the potential as a renewable source of fiber which can be obtained from bagasse after extraction of juice and fuel as energy from burning dry leaf trash, tops and bagasse and as alcohol from bio-fermentation of juice or through conver- sion of cellulose (Shiotsu et al. 2015). Since the juice is not suitable for extracting sugar due to its poor quality, the possibility of utilizing it for bio-energy generation like producing biogas by anaerobic digestion process was explored. Juice analysis of Erianthus arundi- naceus indicated that it contained reasonable amount of dissolved organic content, and it has been estimated that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) was around & C. Jayabose jayabosec@yahoo.com 1 ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India 123 Sugar Tech (July-Aug 2017) 19(4):341–346 DOI 10.1007/s12355-016-0472-8